My Goodbye
by Hymntanra
Summary: A scene I felt was sorely missing from the Luminous gameplay—after Lania comes back from the dead, a much needed discussion is had regarding events of the past, and what must be done with the future. Familyfic. Pretty short piece by my standards, so may qualify as drabble?


My Goodbye

The little blonde girl stood at the side of the staircase, feet firmly planted next to the heavy wood steps as she peered uncomfortably into the darkened room. One light was all that lit the study; the fireplace of the hall had died out hours ago and she had been snapped at when she had gone to restart the flame. All that could be hear was the quiet drizzling of clean water over the bright green leafs of the vine that grew through the middle of their shared home. The water dripped meticulously into a barrel next to a shimmering golden flower in their normally quaint and welcoming dwelling.

Lately it had not been so welcoming. Luminous seemed very strange lately. Both Lania and the winged cat cradled in her arms agreed to this sentiment. He had gotten quieter, much easier to disturb—and yet, at times, he become calmer and smiled so sweetly and kindly and was so outward…it was like Lania was living with two new people. And the remnants of the person who the little girl had originally brought in to be her new parent seemed to have evaporated into these new people.

Her blue eyes peered around the corner of the staircase again; this time meeting the gaze of the man sitting at the desk. Luminous had shifted his position to look over at the staircase and showcase his mismatched eyes. He knew the little girl was there but did not acknowledge her—there was a time, Lania recalled, when Luminous would have done exactly that. Would have bid her out of hiding and asked her, quietly and gently, why she was up so late with such an unhappy look on her face.

Not anymore…not anymore.

Now he just averted his mismatched eyes away from his ward and back to his books.

She flattened herself against the crevice by the stairs and gazed, unmoving, at the plain white wall and wood support beams as the scratching sound of Luminous' quill filled her ears. Or, the sound of whomever's quill it was. Sometimes she didn't even know if this…person was Luminous. This quiet, invasive, dark person who had hurt her so many months ago before the girl had been revived…Lania didn't know what to call him, but it wasn't Luminous. He was a strange being that was very much unlike the man she had found in the woods when she was six years old.

She remembered that day…it was a sweet day.

Lania had never had a mother, nor a father. She had never had anyone in her life before Luminous to tell her that picking up a stranger out of the woods was an ill-advised decision. All the girl had was her odd little cat Penny, the clothing on her back, and the quaint little home that was nestled deep within the woods of Ellinia forest. She had been there for as long as she could remember. Just her and Penny living a solitary life…happy and content with that life, but feeling like something was often missing from it. Something older and bigger, something that was warmer and braver and more comforting.

_"Where are my parents, Penny?"_ That is what she asked the cat one day. The small cat cast a fleeting glance upon the girl and shook her furred head, simply replying that they were gone and they were not coming back—that the cat would take care of the girl. But how much could a cat take care of a little girl? How much warmth, knowledge, support, and growth could a cat provide for a human girl?

Not the kind of warmth, knowledge, support, and growth that an adult human could.

Penny didn't trust Luminous—Lania did. Immediately. To the girl, he was immediately _family._ To her, Luminous was immediately something that cast a brand new feeling of _home_ into what she realized had beforehand just been a house that they had occupied. He was a person that helped her learn to cook and sew, and yet also hunted the beasts around the house and protected his ward from the monsters in the closet. Luminous was a mother AND a father to the girl. He was what could be trusted.

The man in the study right now was not that person.

Lania shook her head sorrowfully and curled up at the foot of the stairs, burrowing her blonde locks in the apron of her dress to hide her blue eyes from sight. She could hear the approaching footsteps but didn't bother to chase them away, nor did she bother to run away herself—the girl refused to be afraid of Luminous. Even when he was not Luminous, this man had cared for her. He had raised her. He was practically her only family, the man who had been both her mother and father.

Even after this other person had hurt her, she knew…

_It was not Luminous. It was the other him. The darker one._

"Lania?"

She looked up with a wobbling smile. "Yes, Papa Luminous?"

The first thing she noted was that the man had clear rings under his mismatched eyes; he looked tired, much more tired than he had looked when she was younger. The second thing she noticed was that Luminous was now constantly holding his weapon in the house—normally he would only wield his unique staff outside of the house in order to create a more welcoming environment. But after she had returned from the dead, Lania's foster parent had deemed it necessary to have his weapon on hand at all times.

He was so stressed.

"You shouldn't be awake, Lania. It's already eleven at night. You need your rest." Luminous said quietly. His voice was strained, almost hoarse. Like he was struggling.

_You are fighting the other you, aren't you? _

The girl smiled weakly anyways.

"Of course. I'm sorry."

With that, she rose to her feet and went for the stairs. But the tiny girl was halted when gloved hands rested on her shoulder, wrapping tight around her front and pulling her into a hug from behind. The girl was silent for a moment—she stood there quietly with Luminous clinging to her desperately, as the rain began to hit the glass of the windows. Penny slowly drifted by their feet and curled up near them. Then, slowly and cautiously, the little girl placed her hands gently atop her foster parent's wrists.

"Papa Luminous?"

"None of it was supposed to happen, Lania." Luminous muttered; his voice cracked slightly. Immediately, both the girl and the cat knew what he was speaking of. All of them had avoided talking about what had happened for so long, but it seemed like it had been eating Luminous up inside. "I didn't know it was….I didn't know it was inside me, much less that it was going to hurt you. You're like my child, Lania, you mean the world to me. You're my only family. I would never hurt you on purpo—"

"Papa." Lania said clearly, not even bothering to attach the man's name this time as she lifted her head from the man's arms. She shifted slightly so that she could catch a glimpse of his pained expression. "_I know._ I know. You…would never hurt me. And it's not you. It's that…inside you. The darkness. The stuff from the bad person that you and your friends are trying to fight. I know it, Luminous."

"…Lania, I have to go for a while."

"…I know."

"I'll always be your parent. Even if…" Luminous faltered.

"You're more parent to me than my real parents ever were." Lania finished for the man, a graceful smile crossing her features. It was a worried, and sorrowful smile, but she tried to keep those emotions out of her expression—this was for everyone's own good. For her good, for Luminous' good, for Penny's good, for the good of the people of their world. In the end…their family could only benefit. "When you come back…you'll be welcome to come back whenever you want. Whenever. Okay?"

"…Okay. Thank you, Lania."

"You're welcome."

_What is family for, really?_


End file.
